The Ways of Pokémon Champions
by Empyrean Philharmonic
Summary: Cynthia is on a search for the fabled Azure Flute, while Steven is on a search for the elusive Griseous Orb. Unexpected events occur, and the two find themselves joining together before a secretive evil in a quest to - dare I say, save the world.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Prelude

There was a time where Cynthia, the strongest Sinnoh champion the world had ever witnessed, was simply tired of the mundane life at the Sinnoh Pokémon League. Without any hints of doubt, she was a formidable battler, a first-rate champion, and she kept this title with honorable prestige. Anyone with an excessively proud attitude who dared challenge her would find themselves walking home gloomily. Those with more modest personalities who challenged her would find themselves mulling over their mistakes and flaws of their battle. Cynthia, in a literal sense, was unbeatable.

Because no one of superb strength had yet to challenge her, the Sinnoh champion set off on a new journey. But unlike her first goal — in which she would become a top champion, and she achieved this quite stylishly — she would accomplish this new goal: uncover the ambiguous and esoteric enigma of that damnable Azure Flute. With a small, polite, and befitting letter, she wrote to the official International Pokémon League asking that she would take a temporary leave from the Sinnoh League. Her excuses were reasonable, and so her leave was granted without further questioning.

Cynthia was a Pokémon Champion, but she did carry a heavy interest towards Sinnoh mythology and history. Had she not decided to become a Pokémon Champion, she would have chosen to become a historian exclusively researching the subject of Sinnoh myths. Of course, she didn't have any doctoral degree; she barely accomplished any undergraduate studies in any sort of history. That didn't mean she wasn't knowledgeable, however. It was thanks to her wonderful grandmother that she understood the intellectual meanings of history that could rival even top researchers of Sinnoh myths. Her grandmother, Arceus bless her, was an esteemed professor at Celestic College — a small but prestigious liberal arts college housing a quaint, enchanting library packed with seemingly endless information about Sinnoh mythology and history. Those who specialized in those fields alone would find great comfort in using this wondrous library. Cynthia used her advantage as a professor's relative to gain access to all materials, and thus it was arguable that she was supremely superior to those of even graduate students of Sinnoh mythology and history.

And so, it was here today that one could find the blonde flipping through an old, leather book regarding the theory of how the universe was created, according to the folklore, village songs, and artifacts gathered around from Sinnoh tribes and burial sites. There was one thing she was searching for, and she had yet to find it. This book, as old and antique as it was to be loved, didn't contain anything she was hoping for either.

Sighing, she gently pushed the antique book away, taking in the last views of its yellowed pages as she turned her head back to her own black, sewn-bound notebook, its non-ruled, cream-colored pages painted with Cynthia's elegant, Victorian penmanship. If there was one thing she could be genuinely proud of, it was her beautiful handwriting, and everyone could see she wasn't exaggerating when they looked at the delicate letters, the way one letter twirled artfully to the next. Written at the heading of one page were the following words:

_The Legend of the Azure Flute_

_In the legend of the Azure Flute, it is said that blowing into the instrument shall summon Arceus._

It was the third day today in which Cynthia was struggling to find even a single book, a document, an essay of any sort that mentioned the Azure Flute with attempted detail. While she did come across the occasional book that vaguely mentioned the mystical relic, there was never any kind of endeavor she could judge as worthy to write down in her notebook. Still, there was some hope left; at least, she hoped so. There were two hefty stacks of books, folders and boxes that she had to go through.

A sudden thought came to mind, and Cynthia had the urge to record down the idea. The blonde picked up her personal fountain pen, a dark burgundy writing utensil with a bright golden nib and silver barrel trimmings around the top. Under the words of her heading, she wrote down:

_Perhaps the Azure Flute is not connected with the Adamant, Lustrous, and Griseous Orbs? What if the Azure Flute is on such a level that not even those orbs can rival the instrument?_

The thought swam into her mind like a long lost message in a bottle landing softly onto the silky sand of a beach with a celestial-colored sky. It was as if her intuition just received a message from the past, and it came to her gently like the soft rays of the morning sun.

A familiar rumble cried out from Cynthia's stomach. She looked towards the closest clock, decorated with roman numerals encased in polished cherry wood, and saw that it was nearly three in the afternoon. She had overworked again.

Packing up her things in a formidable messenger bag, the Champion admonished herself, regretting that she hadn't paid much attention to her body as she should have. It was a habit of hers to be completely engrossed by such a topic that she would reject her own body. At times, she thought of using this excuse as to why she had such long hair that went down to her knees. No other woman she knew ever kept her hair that long anyway. (On a side note, Cynthia didn't mind, for she rather liked her long hair and had no desire to cut it off sooner or later unless it started brushing the floor like a broom.)

Outside, Cynthia walked around her calm hometown, searching for an accustomed street café she could eat her late lunch at. Rather more quickly than she expected, she found a comely Kalosian café, and took the last available open seat outside. Glancing swiftly inside the café, she could sense that all of the tables were full, and so she would have to make do under the afternoon sun. Secretly, she prayed that there wouldn't be any media stations stalking her in hopes of capturing her on camera and bombarding her with useless questions.

A waiter came over promptly, handing her a menu while serving her a glass of cool water. Sipping the water, she opened the menu and looked carefully among the choices of food she could take for her afternoon lunch.

"Cynthia?"

The blonde looked up from the menu, glancing at the stranger who had greeted her. She had intended to give a mere glance, but the sight of this man seemed to make her stare at him longer than she usually would.

Before her very eyes stood a vigorously young and handsome man, his silver hair moving wispily in the calm wind, the ethereal blue-green eyes sparkling with a deep intensity only meant to be experienced and not talked of. This man was familiar, indeed, and she couldn't help but give a heartening smile at the sight of him.

"Oh." Cynthia set down her glass of water, surprised to see Steven Stone. "Steven…"

"It's been a while!" Steven grinned happily. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Yeah, it's been a long time," she greeted as she set down her menu. "When was the last time we saw each other?"

He shrugged, holding his flustered smile. "At least around a decade and a half. You've certainly changed a lot, too."

Cynthia merely kept her smile; she was eager to understand what Steven meant by his words, but she held those thoughts saying something else instead. "Fifteen years? I can't believe we can still recognize each other after being away for so long. How have you been?"

"I'm... doing great," Steven replied, though one could see he wasn't quite confident in his answer. Inside, he was utterly shocked in seeing Cynthia, now the Sinnoh Champion, sitting right before his very eyes. "What about you?"

"I would say the same thing myself," Cynthia smiled. "Still, you're looking pretty good for an ex-champion of Hoenn."

Steven let out a flustered laugh. "I'm surprised to see you here though. I've heard about your fame as a Champion, and so I thought you'd be at the Sinnoh League."

"It's a lengthy story." Cynthia waved her hand once to indicate that it was long.

"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Steven had noticed the lack of empty seats elsewhere.

"No, I don't mind," Cynthia replied, and the man sat down in response. "What brings you here in Sinnoh? I thought you'd be somewhere else in some mountain digging for stones."

Steven laughed genially. "I would be, but instead, I came here to inspect the Sinnoh Mountains. I'm here to see if I can discover anything new, especially since Sinnoh is a region with such rich history."

Cynthia was intrigued, and so she wondered how she could form the next question without using words too intrusive onto his mission. "Do you mind explaining?"

"Well," Steven began, sighing in contemplation. "I want to look at the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs, and I heard they're here located at the Celestic Museum. In fact, I just arrived at Celestic Town today, so that's one thing I want to look at. The next thing I want to search for is the supposed Griseous Orb."

"We… haven't found the Griseous Orb."

"I know." Steven gave her a smile that would have melted the hearts of massive amounts of fangirls, though Cynthia resisted quite easily. After all, she was sure he never really meant to use his charm around girls; the man had such an easygoing and attractive personality that fascinated girls, even though he never intended to be that kind of man. "But, I want to see if I can try and find it. If I do, then I won't look like that crazy guy who has an obsession about rocks for himself. They always make me look like I'm that kind of guy."

Cynthia laughed, a hand covering her surprisingly girlish giggle. "Funny you should say that. I was recently at Celestic College and I saw a couple of students, both of them girls, reading about you and your obsession with rocks. It was in some gossip tabloid."

Steven groaned in embarrassment. "Oh…"

"Sorry," Cynthia apologized quickly, and returned to her warm smile. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's alright," Steven laughed in an attempt to bring the atmosphere back into a bright mood. "I, I should know about these kinds of things ahead of time."

"It's the price of having a fame you never intended to achieve," Cynthia mused. "I've been through hard things too. They're always making these absurdly offensive rumors about me. It doesn't help that I'm a blonde, _and _that I'm a woman. I'm pretty sure if I were a man, they wouldn't be making all of these stories about me."

Steven sighed. "Yeah, I remember… I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear it."

Cynthia shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't really matter. The media thrives on this kind of gossip. After all, they make tons of money off of stories like me having an affair with some young female Pokémon trainer or me having some weird sexual fetish. It happens."

The waiter came back with another glass of cool water and a menu, and Steven thanked him.

"So what brings you here, then?" Steven asked as he opened the menu.

"I'm doing research," Cynthia responded casually. "I took a temporary leave from the Pokémon League, and now I have limited time to accomplish my next goal."

"Mind telling me what it is exactly?"

Cynthia looked at Steven keenly in the eye. "The Azure Flute."

Steven looked at the blonde with a confused expression. Perhaps once upon a time, in some past long ago, he had heard of the ancient relic. If he did, he couldn't remember it today.

Understanding his perplexed look, Cynthia dropped her voice to a quiet whisper. "It's a flute that supposedly summons Arceus at the top of Mt. Coronet when you blow through it. They say it's supposed to have some other-worldly sound to it."

Steven's eyes widened slightly. "Sounds… impressive."

"Hm." Cynthia sipped from her glass of water. "My research has been proving quite fruitless so far. I'm currently working at Celestic College, browsing through their library trying to find any hints of the relic. But I still haven't found anything. I at least hope that by the time my leave ends, I'll have a decent amount of research done."

"Celestic College?" Steven's voice intoned questioningly.

Cynthia nodded. "Yes."

"If you don't mind," Steven began warily, "do you think you could help me access their library?"

"Sure," Cynthia lifted her head back slightly in surprise; nonetheless, she would help the former Hoenn champion gain access to the media center. "I can help you get in there."

"Great." Steven smiled. "There are some things that I want to look at, and I was told through other people that only Celestic College contained those papers."

The waiter came over once again, and asked if they were ready to order their food. Although neither person had actually decided on what they were going to eat, they hastily ordered their food and settled with whatever they thought looked enticing enough to eat.

It seemed strange, both Cynthia and Steven noted, that both of them would meet together on the same day in some Kalosian street café, talking together up to the point where neither had paid much attention to what they were both going to eat. Before they had come across each other, both were heavily engrossed in their own work, refusing to give any attention to their own bodies so that they had to have a late afternoon lunch.

And yet, despite the fact that the two now came across each other, they were, in a sense, rejecting their bodies again. They hadn't really paid any attention to the menu, and each was somehow delighted at seeing one another again.

There was a time long ago, and they both knew this, that they were teenage Pokémon trainers aiming for a goal everyone longed for: to become a Pokémon Champion. Somewhere along the way, Cynthia and Steven met, and they developed small feelings for each other. Later on, they drifted away, they never kept contact after all, and they concluded that their feelings for each other were simply teenage infatuations. Never did they think they could actually meet again, and never did they think their "feelings" would grow into something deeper.

For now, though, both would not mention their hints of teenage infatuation towards each other. Bringing this up on a fine day like this would be much too awkward, and so for the rest of their late afternoon lunch, they made small talk on little things — Cynthia's boring escapades at the Sinnoh League, the weather, the interesting but quiet history on Celestic Town.

It wouldn't be after the late afternoon lunch where the things would start growing more riveting.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Meeting of the Past

When the two future Pokémon Champions met, they were young and innocent, sure that their naïveté was nothing more than a characteristic that made them ambitious fifteen-year-olds in achieving their goals. One might have argued that their meeting was something like a work of fate.

Cynthia, an energetic and modest trainer, was training the complicatedly difficult Draco Meteor to her beloved Gible when she and Steven first met. She had been told from many Dragon Tamers that to train Dragon-Type Pokémon would be taking on a notoriously Herculean task. The complexity that was required of trainers who decided to raise dragons required sheer, raw intensity, something that very few humans were only capable of doing. While the young blonde had the innate talent of training and raising Pokémon of all sorts, even she felt the heavy burden of seasoning a Dragon-Type. Yet, the young Cynthia would not let any obstacle hinder her way. Her desires to train her Gible into the very best were oceans deeper than all of the other trainers in her time. In short, teaching the tortuous Draco Meteor was nothing compared to her wants, and that even if she and her Gible seemed to have mastered the magnificent move, they were still a far great of ways from becoming a Pokémon Champion.

Steven, a lively and friendly trainer, was having a similar dilemma. When Cynthia was trying to deal with the intricacies of her Gible, Steven was trying to deal with the intricacies of his very first Pokémon, Beldum. Raising a Beldum was just as difficult and complicated as raising any Dragon-Type Pokémon. Certain humans with a strong will could only raise the enigmatically simple Pokémon itself, for the will required to raise the Beldum evolutionary line was just as much required of those who chose to raise a Dragon-Type. In any case, Steven's dilemma specifically dealt with that fact that Beldum had been struggling to reach in accord with its Psychic-Type complex. His Beldum was only acquainted with two moves: Take Down, and Iron Head. The silver-haired trainer knew that he had to change his strategy soon, lest he find some undesirable event take place to his Pokémon. Beldum was so used to attacking opponents with its physical body using those two moves alone that Steven realized its mind would soon wear out into nothingness if it didn't start training its psychic powers. In the worst of the dilemma, the brain would become a useless clump of body mass. Beldum was also a Psychic-Type Pokémon, and it was essential for it to master its psychic strengths. Steven knew how serious this problem meant, for even he saw signs of his Beldum becoming a Pokémon relying on material power. The Pokémon couldn't even recognize everyday familiarities because of the lack of mental training.

As such, the two simultaneously agreed to go to the blizzard-strewn Mt. Silver to do some independent and intense training with their starter Pokémon. At the time of their decision, both Cynthia and Steven had competed in a regional tournament: Cynthia had placed herself in the Top 2 of the Johto League, while Steven had placed himself in the Top 4 of the Kanto League. Both trainers accepted their places and positions as trainers, knowing that even if they had won those tournaments, they would have to go into the Sovereign Tournaments, and then leading into the World Tournament, and finally, the Champions Tournament. It might have seemed disheartening that they didn't win the regional tournaments, but the fact that there were many more tournaments after those was something that had to be accounted for. That said, they weren't very disappointed about their loss at all.

Both trainers decided that Mt. Silver was an ideal place to train, despite the fact that it would be bitterly cold, and that nearly all trainers, including Ace Trainers, feared the intimidating mountain in the first place. Cynthia's Gible was especially worried, since she didn't like the prospect of training in a cold place. (Arceus, did Gible hate Ice-Types.) Nonetheless, Gible agreed to go advance their training in the cold mountain, knowing that such training was required for her to become stronger. On the other hand, Steven's Beldum didn't seem to mind very much about the cold weather, for it had not a very sharp sense of temperature.

The two trainers arrived with their starter Pokémon alone, Cynthia and Gible arriving through the southwest entrance while Steven and Beldum arrived at the northeast. Both trainers left sent the rest of their party Pokémon back home, for the deep training that would be coming meant absolute and total concentration between the trainers and their first Pokémon. As much as Steven and Cynthia loved their other Pokémon, the fact that Gible and Beldum were their first Pokémon meant they needed to spend a significant amount of time with them, away from other Pokémon.

They were both prepared, physically and mentally, stocking up decent amounts of food and supplies, as well as making sure their winter clothes with suffice for the chilly weather. They assured themselves that despite the harsh weather and training that both human and Pokémon would experience, they would survive it, for there was no other way around the training required.

And so, on the first day of training, Cynthia spent her time with Gible enduring the weather by teaching her dragon Draco Meteor, repeating the move over and over as if they were in an endless cycle. Steven did the same with Beldum, making sure to consistently push the Pokémon to use its mind to get in touch with its Psychic-Type abilities. The weather was nice to both trainers on the first day, and on the second day. If there were any snow falling, it would be gentle and calm. If there weren't any snow, the sun would rise from dawn to dusk, providing gracious warmth to the four individuals training.

When the third day of training came, however, the weather wasn't very nice at all.

There was a dangerous blizzard that attacked Mt. Silver, and this caused both Cynthia and Steven to retreat into the mountain. There wasn't any time for either of them to get back down to the Pokémon Center at the base of Mt. Silver with their Pokémon, for they were so high up at the top of the mountain that even trying to cross down would kill them.

Cynthia and Steven wandered around the inner mountain with their Pokémon, being careful not to disturb any of the wild Pokémon sleeping around. Both of them were desperate to find some place to settle down for the night, all the while hoping that they wouldn't get lost within the depths of the mountain. Still, it was this snowstorm that made the two of them meet one another, for this snowstorm was the ultimate point in time that changed their lives.

The fifteen-year-old blonde shivered in the darkness, aided only by a bright flashlight in a mitten-covered hand. Despite the fact that she had a fluffy, yet desirably elegant, long winter coat, and had other comfortable clothing, that being a thick, cashmere scarf, a fuzzy hat, and durable snow boots, Cynthia still felt cold. She held Gible in her arms, hoping to provide her little dragon some warmth from the wintry air. Her backpack bounced along lightly, not being a very big hindrance to the trainer.

Cynthia sneezed, her delicate and light sound echoing uncomfortably and resonantly in the air. The pudgy Gible in her arms looked up at her trainer in concern, making a sound that inquired if she was doing okay.

"I'm fine," Cynthia said as she smiled to her Gible, her eyes displaying soothing warmth to the dragon. "Don't worry about me."

"Hello? Is someone there?" another voice called out in the darkness. Cynthia jolted at hearing the voice, while the little dragon in her arms jumped off, prepared to defend her trainer.

Nervously, the blonde swung her flashlight around to the direction of the voice. "Who is this?"

The light of the flashlight revealed the fifteen-year-old Steven, wrapped tightly in a winter coat, his thick hat covering nearly all of his silvery hair. A long scarf was snaked excessively around his neck while his hands were wrapped in sturdy gloves meant for winter's harshness. He had a small lantern with a makeshift, glowing fire inside, the fire more obvious than the wick surrounding it. His Beldum floated alongside indifferently, staring at the strangers with a deceptively blank eye.

"Oh… a fellow Pokémon trainer is here at Mt. Silver?" Steven attempted to smile, though the freezing wind had blown quite fiercely into the mountain caves, and this caused him to shiver instead. "I thought that no one else would be here. Why are you here?"

"I was training up here with my Gible," Cynthia explained, motioning towards the little dragon next to her. "I'm trying to teach her Draco Meteor, but… well, that hasn't been working very well." Cynthia laughed meekly in embarrassment. "What about you?"

"I, I could say the same." Steven looked at his Beldum. "I'm trying to train my Beldum to use Zen Headbutt. Well, I'm trying to train it to understand its Psychic-Type powers in general."

The winter wind howled outside the mountain, the powerful streams of bitter frigidness biting the two trainers and their Pokémon. They shivered in collective unison, instinctively getting closer to each other. Both trainers knew that in spite of the fact that they were complete strangers, the genuine honesty they sensed from each other could be trusted enough. After all, they were both trainers, wanting only what was best for their Pokémon. They fully doubted that one would try to do any harm to the other.

"I'm t-trying to find a place in these caves to rest," Steven continued, the coldness seeping into his cheeks. "Everywhere I walk, though, there's always wind. I c-can't find a decent place to keep myself warm."

Cynthia shivered along. "I c-could say the same for myself. I've been walking a-all over and there's wind everywhere." Cynthia looked at her Gible and picked the little dragon back up into her arms. "I'm really worried for Gible. I know she hates the cold."

Steven chuckled hoarsely, though it sounded more like a cough than a laugh. "Well, since we're here together, we might as well find a decent place together."

Cynthia nodded, her blond bangs moving along with her head. "We might as well. I'm Cynthia. What's your name?"

"I'm Steven," he responded, and smiled. Knowing that they weren't alone in dealing with the pain of the icy blizzard was relieving, for they were glad there was someone there they could share the situation with.

Eventually, the two wandered with their Pokémon far deep into the mountain, so deep that the winds outside were unable to reach them, while also free of any wild Pokémon. They settled on a rocky, but dry ground, placing Steven's lantern in the middle. While the wind could not reach them, and the atmosphere was considerably warmer, the air was still cold. Neither Gible nor Beldum seemed to take note of this. Gible was quite content by snuggling herself between a couple of rogue rocks, the warmth from the stones already providing her all the comfort she needed. It was the same for Beldum, for it, too, was content by settling against a large boulder.

The two trainers opened their own backpacks, feeding themselves and their Pokémon with whatever they had brought as their supplies. It didn't take very much time for them to all finish, and Gible and Beldum were quick to fall asleep.

Steven and Cynthia, however, were still awake, forced to listen to the cruel howls and groans from the blizzard winds as they unpacked their lightweight sleeping bags. At first, they were quite separate from each other; it would feel brazenly awkward if they slept close to one another.

"Um…" Cynthia hesitated, suddenly regretting she had started making a sound.

Steven looked over to Cynthia casually. "Yeah?"

"Erm… it's just that it's really, really cold, and I was wondering if it would be okay to…" Cynthia blushed heavily, though she hoped Steven would notice in the pale light of the lantern. "To sleep, like, closer to… you."

Hearing this, Steven instantly blushed. "Ah…"

"I mean, like, if it's okay with you, Idon'twannaforceyouoranything," Cynthia said quickly, her mouth running off like some uncontrollable contraption. "I read in a Pokémon trainer guidebook that when you're in a cold mountain, and if there's someone with you, it's better to stay together so that the body heat won't, like, go away so quickly. I get, like, really cold easily and… ah, you know what, forget that I even asked."

"O-oh… yeah, no, I totally get it," Steven said, releasing a couple of laughs after. "I get it, I mean, it makes sense."

"Iwon'tdoanythingtoyou," Cynthia continued, laughing nervously. "I mean, when tomorrow comes, I'm sure the blizzard will stop and stuff."

"Y-yeah, I won't do anything either." Steven bit his lip, knowing that the blonde before him truly wouldn't do anything harmful, though the current situation was undeniably weird.

As awkwardly as anyone could have pictured it, Cynthia and Steven moved their sleeping bags side by side, attempting to move as normally as they possibly could. When the two were finally ready, they said a stiff goodnight to each other, their backs facing against each other. If their faces met each other, that would've been unapologetically gawky. Despite that, however, the two trainers were sleeping quite close together, and the body warmth transferred between them was warm enough to last them throughout the night.

The next morning, the trainers' Pokémon had gotten up early. Gible nudged Cynthia quite softly, while Beldum quietly pushed Steven awake. The wind had stopped howling, and the trainers searched their way together to find a way out of the cave to continue their training.

Unbeknownst to them, a rescue team of Pokémon Rangers was sent out to Mt. Bristle in search for Cynthia and Steven. The two trainers had forgotten that they informed Nurse Joy of their training at the Pokémon Center near the base of the mountain, and when Nurse Joy realized that they were trapped within the mountain from the blizzard, her concern grew for them. She called a team of Pokémon Rangers to search for the trainers, praying to Arceus that they would be found alive and well.

To her relief, Cynthia and Steven were both found together walking through the caves by a ranger. With a X-Transceiver, the two trainers gave a happy greeting to Nurse Joy, prompting tears of comfort from the nurse's eyes. She urged them to come and visit the Pokémon Center before heading back up to do their training, and the more she urged them to come back down the Center, the harder the two found it to argue back.

In the end, Steven and Cynthia went back down to the Pokémon Center to give a quick checkup on their Pokémon and themselves. After treating themselves with a hot meal, the two trainers parted ways, giving a memorable goodbye to each other before heading back to their intensive training.

* * *

Alright, first author's note for this fic! Well, I do owe you guys reading the story an apology, so I'm really sorry that this chapter wasn't posted up as quickly as I hoped it would be. I needed to edit and revise the chapter, but real life/school… argh, I just have _boatloads_ of work to do and all of it stops me from actually writing fanfics. So yeah, sorry if I made anyone angry. Besides, I had another document that had the original second chapter for this fic, but then that file was deleted by accident and I had to rewrite the entire chapter from _scratch_. It was _**painful**_ when I found out I lost the original second chapter… DX *cries in agony* Still, I'd like to thank all of you who have faved/followed. Again, I'm sorry for the delay of the chapter, and I will make the attempt to publish the next chapter a little more quickly. My thanks to everyone!

… But seriously, I will try. I mean, I'm food-deprived and sleep-deprived and all of the high school senior stuff is slowly murdering me to death. So yeah, if you're pissed off because I don't update this sooner than we all want it to, I'm really sorry. Things will be better after all the college stuff is finished.

Before I go, though, I have to wonder: is my writing style too, like… fancy? No, like, exclusive? Or confusing? Like, I'm really conscious about it right now… So feedback would be nice…

And before I really go, does anyone reading this want longer chapters? I was planning to make about 2,000 words per chapter, but I ordinarily write about 6,000-10,000 words per chapter in my other fanfics. If anyone wants longer chapters, just feel free to tell me, but that means it'll take a longer time to post them up…


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